Surgical splint



Dec. 22, 1931. R. H. THIGPEN S'URGICAL -SPLINT Filed July 1. 1927 ily I NVENTOR ATTORNEYS Patented Dec. 22, 1931 REMBERT H. THIGPEN, OF JEROME, ARIZONA SURGICAL SPLINT Application filed July 1, 1927. Serial No. 202,861. I

Surgical splints heretofore designedfor injured fingers and metacarpal bones and joints have been very cumbersome and bulky and the ordinary method of anchoring the .inner end of the splint to the hand has been by strapping the splint to the palm by the use of adhesive tape passed around the hand. The buckling of the hand has defeated the effort at immobilization. Also as the sweat glands of the palm of the hand are very ac-, tive such use of the adhesive tape has been unpleasant and unsanitary and necessitated frequent re-dressings with the consequent disturbance of the injured parts. Moreover, the blocking of the sweat glands on the back of the hand by the use of the adhesive tape tended to produce irritation and local skin infections. Also, this encircling of the hand with the adhesive tape interfered with the free use of the uninjured portions of the hand and produced a sensation of turgesence in all parts distal to the adhesive tape.

The object of my invention is to obviate the above faults by providing a very simple, light and inexpensive splint which may be anchored at its inner end to the wrist for properly supporting, protecting and immobilizing the injured'part or parts, which splint may be applied with ease and dispatch and which will require (unless there be an open Wound) no additional bandaging, packing or other dressing material and which may be used either alone or with additional splints of the same kind as required, without from a point ad acent the wrist alongthe I unduly interfering with the free use of the uninjured portions of the hand.

My invention comprises a longitudinally straight transversely curved splint of rigid sheet material having its concave inner surface provided with a suitable lining for relieving pressure discomfort orinjury, the

" splint being of suflicient length to extend outwardly from a point adjacent the wrist along the metacarpal bone and finger to a point adjacent the outer end of the, finger, preferably slightly beyond the same; a flexible element being provided at the inner end of the splint in position to be passed around the wrist and fastened for anchoring the splint to the Wrist, adhesive tape being prefinent of suitable length is provided at the erably used to anchor the splint to the finger at the desired places. 1 i A practical'embodiment of'my invention is represented in the accompanying draw-x ings, in which I r Fig.1 represents thev splint in side eleva tion, the freeends of the string for anchoring the inner end of the splint to the wrist being broken'away.,,;fl

Fig. 2 represents an inside plan view of the splint.

Fig. 3 represents a transverse section taken in the plane of the line TIL-III of Fig. 1,

looking in the direction of the arrows. V Figs. 4, 5, 6 and 7 represent Views showing difierent methodsof applying the-splint either singly or in pairs to the hand.

The splint comprises a longitudinally straight transversely curved piece of sheet metal 1 of sufiicient rigidity, as, for instance,

aluminum (for lightness and because it does notfinterfere with X-ray exposures), and ofsuitable weight or thickness. The splint preferably gradually decreases in width from apoint near its tapered inner end 3 to its outer end 2, which outer end may be rounded, ifso desired. The concave surface of the splint is provided with'a lining 4 of felt or other suitablematerial of-the desired thickness for relieving pressure discomfort orinjury, said lining being permanently secured to the splint,,as by glue or other adhesive The splint is of suficient length to extend metacarpal bone and finger to a point adjacent the. outer end ofthe finger,fpreferably off when desired, to suitv the shorter fingers; The width of the splint and its transverse tapering of the innerend ofthe splint is jacent splints ofthe same kind,

A fiat string 5 or equivalent flexible elecurvature may be made to suit the avera e requirements so as to render'the splint substantially universal in its application. The

for the more ready use of the same withad- I inner end of the splint in ready position to be passed around the wrist and its free ends fastened together for anchoring the inner end of the splint thereto, strips of adhesive tape 6 being preferablyused for carrying the splint to' the finger at the places desired. The string may be of absorbent material and is preferably slidably'connected to the inner end of the splint, as, for

instance, by passing the string through any desired pair of a series of pairs :of holes Some of the uses for which my improved finger and metacarpal splint is readily adaptable arethe effective support of the injured finger or'metacarpal bone,ror both; the effective immobilization of the joints or fractured bones; the maintenance of nor- :mal-alignmentafter the reduction of frack tures or dislocations; the correction of finger joints or metacarpo-phalangeal joints, which have stiffened in a state of fiexion or along the metacarpal bone to the outer end 7 of the finger to-which it'is to be applied, said splint gradually decreasing in width from a point near its inner end to its outer end,

and means carried by the inner end of the splint for anchoring it to the wrist. Y

- 2. A longitudinallystraighttransversely curved finger and metacarpal splint of rigid material having sufficient length to extend outwardlyfroma point adjacent the wrist along'the metacarpal bone to the outer end c of the finger to which it is to be applied, the

inner end of the splint having a series of pairs of holes therethrough and a flexible hyper-extension and for the correction of lateral mal-alignment of'any of the joints of the thumb, index and little fingers, or of the metacarpo-phalangeal joints of the said Some of the special advantages arising I from the length of the splint and theanchoring of the inner end of the splint'to 'thelwrist are that a more perfect support and immobilization of the injured part or parts is obtained and the ability to properly support and immobilize not only the injured part of a finger but the corresponding metacarpal bone as well. Furthermore, the splint may be applied with more dispatch andless efiort than those hereinbefore provided, the splint being capable of being .ap- V plied to either'the dorsal surface, the palmar surface, or splints in apairto both. Other advantages arising from the splint herein- "above described are the facility with which a pluralityof the splintsmay be used with one string and the facility with which a readjustment and range of play may be secured by the loosening or tightening of the string around the wrist. Furthermore, it will not be necessary to carry a stock of assorted sizes asthe splint may be trimmed to suit the particular use required. Also 7 by gradually reducing the width of the splint and byproviding a series of sets of holes through the inner end of the splint for slidably receiving the string, the splint is made practically universal in its application', as either end may be cut off and the stringpassed through the desired set of What Iclaim is 1 11A longitudinally straight transversely I curved finger and metacarpal splint of rigid material having sufficient length to extend holes to properlyanchor the splint'to the wrist. V

outwardly from a point adjacent the wrist its 

